GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Shambria Washington raising eyebrows early at TC

Published: Friday, March 29, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 11:09 a.m.

On the basketball court, Trinity Catholic point guard Shambria Washington is many things. She's fast, she's strong, she's explosive, she has a rock-solid handle, a nose for the basket and a sweet stroke from the perimeter.

Trinity sophomore Shambria Washington helped the Celtics get to the regional final.

Bruce Ackerman/Staff photographer

Facts

GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Shambria Washington: The Trinity Catholic sophomore emerged into a truly unstoppable backcourt force, averaging 17 points, 5.7 assists and 4.2 steals as the Celtics reached the regional finals for the second straight season. Washington added a deadly 3-point jump shot to her already dominant repertoire of ball skills, making her an extremely difficult player to defend. She already has the eye of several major-conference college programs and could become Marion County's most high-profile recruit in many years.
For first, second and third teams and honorable mention, see below.

All those talents aside, there's one thing about Washington that's probably most frightening to Celtic opponents — she's just a sophomore.

“She's going to be phenomenal by her senior year,” Trinity head coach Melissa Mosby said. “She still has plenty of room for growth, and that's a good thing.”

Washington, the Star-Banner's girls basketball player of the year, averaged 17 points, 5.7 assists and 4.2 steals in her second season as a varsity starting point guard. Though she had already displayed a dominant floor game as a freshman, Washington went to work on her outside shot and went on to hit 49 total 3-pointers as a sophomore.

“I worked hard during the offseason, in summer ball,” Washington said. “I just trained very hard. During the season some nights I would catch myself in the gym with my coach just putting shots up.”

Her outside shooting prowess made her that much tougher to defend. She was already quick enough off the dribble to routinely leave defenders in the dust. Now those defenders are forced to play up a step closer to guard against a quick jumper — which makes Washington's quickness even more of a weapon.

“I have to have the mind set that no one can stop me,” she said. “If I go into the game thinking someone can stop me, that's just not a good way to look at it.”

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Washington also has an elite travel ball regimen to lean on. She plays throughout the year with the Orlando-based Central Florida Elite, a nationally prominent program that annually churns out major Div. I prospects like Ronni Williams (Florida), Brooksie McGraw (Alabama) and Sydnei McCaskill (Georgia).

Washington hopes to become that level of a prospect over her final two seasons at Trinity, and she's already in contact with major college programs from power conferences like the SEC and Big Ten.

“I don't really like to think about it too much, but I think about it more as time winds down,” Washington said. “Last year it really didn't mean that much to me, but this year it means a lot. This summer is very important for me. To talk to coaches, to get mail in my mailbox, it's very exciting and it's humbling.”

With Washington steering the offense, Trinity made its first two appearances in the regional finals over the past two seasons. Both playoff runs ended with lopsided defeats, but Washington is hoping the Celtics will find their footing among some of the top Class 4A programs in the state and make it even further by the time she's done.

“We wanted more,” she said. “People were expecting (us to be) better and I know myself, I expected better. I want to win a state championship. I want to leave Trinity Catholic with a state championship.”

For that to happen, Washington will need to help find a way to compensate for graduating senior starters Amber Ferguson and Shannon Fanelli, who combined to average 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics. No other returning Trinity player but Washington averaged more then seven points per game.

“I'm going to try and help myself and my teammates get better by working hard in the offseason and just picking up the slack,” she said, “just being a leader and motivating all of us to get better.”

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Washington is the second member of her family to win a Star-Banner player of the year honor. Her oldest brother, Lorenzo, was honored in football in 2011 and is now playing at Valdosta State. Her older brother D'Andre is also a multi-sport athlete at Trinity — which led to some heated competition around the family home when Shambria was growing up.

“I had to compete with them all my life,” Washington said. “They wouldn't give me anything. They wouldn't ever let me shoot a wide open layup. They did whatever they had to do to get me better.”

<p>On the basketball court, Trinity Catholic point guard Shambria Washington is many things. She's fast, she's strong, she's explosive, she has a rock-solid handle, a nose for the basket and a sweet stroke from the perimeter.</p><p>All those talents aside, there's one thing about Washington that's probably most frightening to Celtic opponents — she's just a sophomore.</p><p>“She's going to be phenomenal by her senior year,” Trinity head coach Melissa Mosby said. “She still has plenty of room for growth, and that's a good thing.”</p><p>Washington, the Star-Banner's girls basketball player of the year, averaged 17 points, 5.7 assists and 4.2 steals in her second season as a varsity starting point guard. Though she had already displayed a dominant floor game as a freshman, Washington went to work on her outside shot and went on to hit 49 total 3-pointers as a sophomore.</p><p>“I worked hard during the offseason, in summer ball,” Washington said. “I just trained very hard. During the season some nights I would catch myself in the gym with my coach just putting shots up.”</p><p>Her outside shooting prowess made her that much tougher to defend. She was already quick enough off the dribble to routinely leave defenders in the dust. Now those defenders are forced to play up a step closer to guard against a quick jumper — which makes Washington's quickness even more of a weapon.</p><p>“I have to have the mind set that no one can stop me,” she said. “If I go into the game thinking someone can stop me, that's just not a good way to look at it.”</p><p>■ ■ ■</p><p>Washington also has an elite travel ball regimen to lean on. She plays throughout the year with the Orlando-based Central Florida Elite, a nationally prominent program that annually churns out major Div. I prospects like Ronni Williams (Florida), Brooksie McGraw (Alabama) and Sydnei McCaskill (Georgia).</p><p>Washington hopes to become that level of a prospect over her final two seasons at Trinity, and she's already in contact with major college programs from power conferences like the SEC and Big Ten.</p><p>“I don't really like to think about it too much, but I think about it more as time winds down,” Washington said. “Last year it really didn't mean that much to me, but this year it means a lot. This summer is very important for me. To talk to coaches, to get mail in my mailbox, it's very exciting and it's humbling.”</p><p>With Washington steering the offense, Trinity made its first two appearances in the regional finals over the past two seasons. Both playoff runs ended with lopsided defeats, but Washington is hoping the Celtics will find their footing among some of the top Class 4A programs in the state and make it even further by the time she's done.</p><p>“We wanted more,” she said. “People were expecting (us to be) better and I know myself, I expected better. I want to win a state championship. I want to leave Trinity Catholic with a state championship.”</p><p>For that to happen, Washington will need to help find a way to compensate for graduating senior starters Amber Ferguson and Shannon Fanelli, who combined to average 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics. No other returning Trinity player but Washington averaged more then seven points per game.</p><p>“I'm going to try and help myself and my teammates get better by working hard in the offseason and just picking up the slack,” she said, “just being a leader and motivating all of us to get better.”</p><p>■ ■ ■</p><p>Washington is the second member of her family to win a Star-Banner player of the year honor. Her oldest brother, Lorenzo, was honored in football in 2011 and is now playing at Valdosta State. Her older brother D'Andre is also a multi-sport athlete at Trinity — which led to some heated competition around the family home when Shambria was growing up.</p><p>“I had to compete with them all my life,” Washington said. “They wouldn't give me anything. They wouldn't ever let me shoot a wide open layup. They did whatever they had to do to get me better.”</p><p><i>Contact Andy Marks at andy.marks@starbanner.com.</i></p><p><blockquote style="border: 2px solid #666; padding: 10px; background-color: #ccc;"><b>FIRST TEAM</p><p>Amber Ferguson, Sr., Trinity Catholic:</b> Rock-solid center had 13 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 47 blk.</p><p><b>Shekinah Gibson, Sr., Forest:</b> Inside force averaged 16.6 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2 SPG</p><p><b>Kori Hanks, So., West Port:</b> Sure-handed PG with 12 PPG, 5.6 APG, .458 3-pt shooting</p><p><b>Tanika Jackson, Sr., Dunnellon:</b> Do-everything star with 18.3 PPG, 7 RPG, 3.6 SPG</p><p><b>Jalaysha Thomas, 8th, St. John:</b> Saints' phenom averaged 13.2 PPG, 10.8 RPG, county-best 60 blk.</p><p><b>SECOND TEAM</p><p>Navondra Dubois, Jr., West Port:</b> First-year player averaged 11.5 PPG, 2.8 APG, 3.2 SPG</p><p><b>Shannon Fanelli, Sr., Trinity Catholic:</b> Inside-outside threat with 10.4 PPG, 50 3s</p><p><b>Shaye Hardy, So., North Marion:</b> Upstart Colts' top player at 11.5 PPG, 4.3 SPG</p><p><b>Tameria Johnson, 8th, St. John:</b> Fleet-footed guard had 9.6 PPG, 2.7 APG</p><p><b>Alex Wilhelm, Sr., Vanguard:</b> Savvy PG led young Knights with 10 PPG, 4.2 APG</p><p><b>THIRD TEAM</p><p>Kalyn Cone, Sr., OCA:</b> Hustle player with 13 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 4.1 SPG, 3.6 BPG</p><p><b>Destiny Lawson, So., West Port:</b> Sharpshooter had 12 PPG, county-best 55 3s at .385%</p><p><b>Canisha LeCorn, Fr., Vanguard:</b> Future star posted 11.7 PPG, 7.2 RPG</p><p><b>Rusharra Tolbert, 8th, OCA:</b> Crusader prospect with 14.9 PPG, county-best 7.6 SPG, 3.2 APG</p><p><b>Quameshia Townsend, Sr., Forest:</b> Scrappy Wildcat averaged 8.4 PPG, 4.3 SPG</p><p><b>HONORABLE MENTION</p><p>Dunnellon —</b> Savannah Helton, Sierra Oliver, Destiny Poyser, Tyra Thomas; <b>Forest —</b> Gabrielle Brown, Benetria Robinson; <b>Lake Weir —</b> Marissa Calcione, Ainslie Lee, Marirubi Santiago; <b>North Marion —</b> Kayla Davis, Charlisa Daniels; <b>OCA —</b> Kimmy Kauffman; <b>St. John —</b> Jennifer Bollinger, Hallie Linville, Sara Poehlman; <b>Trinity Catholic —</b> Marisa Thomason; <b>West Port —</b> Aaliyah High, Samantha Stewart.</blockquote></p>